Hello Papabear, I am going to be handing out candy for Halloween and was wondering what is the safest way to go about doing this with the kids and my fursuit? T-Lo * * * Hi, T-Lo, Good question! And I better post this now since it is almost time! Halloween is a great time to fursuit. I've done it several time, handing out candy at my house. The thing about fursuiting at night is that it can be very difficult to see. Also, it can be hard handing out little candies when you are wearing forepaws. So, the solution is that you should always do this with one or more non-suiters with you. It's kind of like having a handler when you are at a furcon or furmeet. In the case of Halloween, the handler will actually handle the candy and make sure you don't stumble into anything or anyone in the dark. The fursuiter doesn't worry about the candy thing and, instead, you focus on interacting with the trick or treaters. Apply the same rules to interacting with trick or treaters as you would if you were at a convention. That is, first, do not approach little kids on your own but let them come to you if they wish to interact. Kids, especially little ones, can actually be a bit overwhelmed or even scared of a fursuit, even one that is not scary (the same way some kids freak out about Santa Claus). This is because you're very large and look strange to them. That's really the minority, though. Most kids will be delighted to see you and you will often get compliments from the adults about your cool "costume." Other tips: keep water available (usually in plastic travel mug with long strong); if your handler has to go inside to use the restroom, go in with them because you don't want to be out there by yourself; when interacting with little ones, it can be helpful to squat down or kneel down to try and be more at their level, which makes you a bit less intimidating. Hope this helps! Have a splendiferous Halloween! Papabear
2 Comments
Papabear,
I love the idea of walking around, wearing a fursuit, making merriment &c. However, I have read that it is not for everyone due to concerns about overheating and claustrophobia. I would like to make sure they are non-issues before I proceed with any commissioning. I understand that people are reluctant to loan others their fursuits, so I'm not sure how feasible it would be to try one on. Would you recommend an experiment to help determine whether fursuiting is an option. Also, I'm fat (183 cm 100 kg). Does this present an issue when fursuiting? I read from your reply to the letter entitled "Fursuiting Tips" that one should act lively (as opposed to standing there), so I am not sure how endurance might come in to play. I appreciate your insight in to this matter and look forward to your reply. Diogenes * * * Hi, Diogenes, It’s great you’re getting into the fun :-3 Trying on someone else’s fursuit could be a real problem, though. Not so much because you can’t find a nice person willing to loan you a fursuit, but because each fursuit is custom made to the exact measurements of that person. So, unless you are the exact same size, weight, and even shape as the other fursuit wearer, it’s not going to work for you. Being large isn’t so much an issue as your stamina. Skinny or chubby, you are going to sweat, no question about it. So, if you DO get a custom fursuit some day, there are things you can do to ease the discomfort. My bear fursuit has padding all over it because my fursona, Grubbs Grizzly, is stockier than I am. These things help: 1. My fursuit maker, Beastcub, installed a fan in the head. It is battery operated. I use lithium batteries, which last longer. Helps a lot. 2. I wear underarmor. This helps wick sweat away from the torso and also helps keep sweat from the fursuit somewhat. People also wear balaclavas. 3. I wear cooling vests. There are a variety of these you can get online. I put ice packs in them and that lasts a couple hours. With the above, I can fursuit for 2 hours comfortably and have been known to go for as long as 4-5 hours before needing a break. If you’re still not sure about taking this step, there are other things you can do. You can get a partial fursuit, including head, arms, tail, feet, keeping your torso free. If you like to wear costumes, such as a wizard’s outfit or Medieval armor or a samurai outfit, this is actually a better way to go and will look very cool. If you really want to experiment around, try this: buy some long underwear and put that one with snow pants, a down jacket, and several other layers of clothing and a wool cap. Do some physical activity while wearing all this stuff and see how you feel. That all said, if you are having health issues because of your weight, I would definitely talk to your doctor and see if this kind of stuff is okay. You might tell him a white lie and say you have been asked to wear a mascot outfit, if that helps. It’s important to have a healthy heart when you fursuit. Heck, the first time I did it, I wore the fursuit too long at a parade and almost fainted. Oh! And it is a good idea to have a fursuit handler, too, especially for newbies. That is someone who helps you not bump or trip on things, helps keep people from harassing you (e.g. kids pulling on your tail), and so forth. Hope that helps! Good luck! Papabear Hello Papabear!
I'm in quite a dilemma here, and I will try to make this short and sweet. I commissioned a seemingly talented yet not very well known fursuit maker for a fullsuit in April of 2015. We agreed in writing of a deadline for December of 2015. I was given excuses all up to a month before the deadline, then was told that I was not going to be receiving my product. I understand, life happens. I was cordial and kind and gave no issue. It is now 3 months past deadline and I still have absolutely no update on the progress. I wholeheartedly believe it has not even begun. I was not told of supplies being purchased or work beginning on it. Now, I don't mind waiting. I really don't. My issue is, that I have now come to learn a few concerning facts after I have commissioned them. I am behind a list of 20+ other paid off fullsuit/partial commissions, all of which seem to have no significant progress for months now, as shown by their public queue and social media. Instead, they are working on side projects that are not in the queue, namely pre-mades so they can make a little more money. I have also learned that they have a pretty bad habit of frequently asking urgently for money because of emergencies, yet buy unnecessary luxury items that same day such as art, plushies, or expensive fursuits, as proven by a few people. I have also spoken to people personally who have had bad experiences with this person. I have lost a lot of trust in this maker because of this. They also have a reputation of refusing refunds in full, or adding on "service fees" or refusing chunks of the refund for "work completed" with no proof or real basis. I have proof of all payments sent, along with corresponding messages to go with them. I have proof of commissioning the fursuit, the deadline, the missed deadline, them admitting that I will not be receiving my product at the intended time. I have not yet asked for a refund, as this person has a reputation for becoming hostile and blacklisting and creating loads of drama once a refund is requested. I have personally been witness to this. I want to make this as smooth and quick as possible. I would like to take this to small claims court, but my only issue is, we live in completely different states quite far apart and I am unsure of what to do to keep them from going off the deep end and me losing out on money that I trusted to them, when I fully believe that none of it has even went to supplies or creation of the fursuit. I just don't know where to go from here. Any advice is greatly and sincerely appreciated. Anonymous (age 24) * * * Dear Furiend, Sadly, what you are experiencing is nothing new and is a good example of what not to do when commissioning a fursuit. Sounds to ol’ bear you only heard about this maker’s bad rep after you started experiencing problems. Did you not research this person before sending money? That was mistake number one. Mistake number two was not getting a written receipt for the money you sent, although it sounds like you have some email proof, which is something, at least. Mistake number three was sending, apparently, ALL the money to the fursuit maker up front. Respectable fursuit makers only ask for a deposit to pay for materials and then ask for the rest upon delivery of the completed fursuit. Now you are not only out part of the money but all of it. It has been suggested by some furries that one solution would be to set up an escrow account, but this seems needlessly complicated and also means the fursuit maker would not have money for materials at first. You mention small claims court. That’s a good idea, but, as you noted, works best when you and the maker are in the same state. When we’re talking different states, then it gets hard, especially since pretty much every fursuit maker I have heard of does not operate an incorporated business. That leaves you with having to get to the maker’s state and suing there, which is not very cost effective, or trying to sue out of state. From the legal sites I have looked over, intrastate small claims judgments are mostly restricted to cases regarding things like real estate, property damage, or suing an actual business that is an incorporated entity (here's some information about small claims in other states: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/small-claims-book/chapter9-2.html). Again, the informality of traditional fursuit commissioning makes this severely problematic, as far as I know. Then again, I’m not an attorney (anyone?); you could hire an attorney, but good ones will cost you as much as the fursuit or more. So, then we get into the subject of reviews. I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be nice if there were a review site such as Angie’s List or Yelp for furries? Turns out, there are. They are still in the process of being developed, but one is here on Tumblr http://makersdatabase.tumblr.com/, and another is being worked on here: http://fursuitreview.khat.us/ with a more up-to-date version on FurAffinity: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/fursuitreview/. Papabear is pleased that there are furries out there going to the trouble and time to try and help their fellows in what can be a frustrating process. Here are a couple possible ways to proceed:
Always start off trying to be nice as possible and giving the person a benefit of a doubt, but don’t be afraid to fight back. If enough people do, this fursuit maker will soon become so notorious that they will never receive any more commissions, and that will be deservedly so. It really irritates me that there are such dishonorable people out there, but there it is. Good luck, Papabear [Dear Readers: In the following letter, I had my buddy Tycho Aussie reply because he's an expert on fursuiting for charities.]
Hi, Papa Bear! I'm a fursuiter, and I'm a little wary of fursuiting without a cause. I really want to donate my time to the local charities by attracting people during their events, but I'm a little unsure of how to approach them about it. Any tips? Gracie Cat * * * Hello Gracie! Papa Bear asked me to send you a note because it sounds like your interest in fursuiting is a lot like mine. I find a lot of joy in sharing my fursuiting with the greater community, and I spend the majority of my fursuiting time outside of furry cons or even furmeets. Your question is quite timely, actually. Quite a few of us here in the Michigan area have just started a fursuiting group called the Michigan Freelance Mascots. We have been getting requests from an increasing number of charities, fundraisers, and community events, which are really, really fun to attend when working as a team. (See: www.fursuiter.org for our temporary website) I have, in the past, been a lone fursuiter and I used to ask event organizers verbally if they wanted a volunteer mascot to add some whimsical entertainment to their event. Although this has worked pretty well, I would frequently get asked by confused people who it was that I represent. Everyone is used to fursuiters / mascots being employed by a baseball team, radio station, or other organization. The idea of freelancing is still brand new. For my first two seasons, I stayed unofficial, and relied on word-of-mouth to get event organizers to learn about me. Unfortunately, I lost of one of my most favorite venues when a nervous staff member confronted the organizer and said "We don't know ANYTHING about this person!!" After this happened, I commissioned a full-color, trifold pamphlet that described my character as well as information on the emerging hobby of freelance mascotting. I also included a short biography of real-life self. These pamphlets can be given to event managers, so that if anyone confronts them with nervousness or questions, the manager can show them the pamphlet and answer all of their questions. You can go to www.tychoaussie.com and I will try to scan and upload the pamphlet, which you can use as a template. So, I would highly recommend that you establish written credentials. With these, you can now approach event managers, city and township activities directors, nursing home managers, hospital staff, etcetera, and offer them your services. They will most likely say yes - and it is a great way to learn your craft! I must caution you though, it is quite an intense but rewarding experience. You will have to be a quick study of people's reactions. Some people will engage you and want to hug you like a favorite stuffed animal, whereas others will try their best to avoid you. Don't let those reactions turn you off - because they are just natural. Some people are just adverse to fursuiting in the same way people are sometimes scared of clowns, spiders, or snakes. I find the ratio is about 1 person out of thirty will not want to interact. So, I suggest you tune up your fursuit, work on your most outgoing personality, and be prepared to be the salesperson, and sell your performance service to some activity managers! Think about small festivals, ask the chamber of commerce if they would want you to walk with their banner in the local parade. Go to the assisted living center and ask to meet some Alzheimer patients. These types of experiences are how I got started. They are individual and require that you bring only an assistant. In some cases, the facility itself will provide you with a helper. In terms of setting up at the venues, if you need a place to change, don't be shy, walk into a nearby store and ask someone. I will usually ask for the manager, explain that I am a freelance mascotter who is about to perform, and that I need a place to change. I have never been turned down. Some of the more unusual places I have changed into Tycho Aussie include:
This is a great hobby: I can openly fursuit without shame at my university and in my workplace, and my whole family, my aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews all know about it. I hope this helps, and if you have any further questions, you can contact me through Papa Bear, on twitter or even facebook. Good Luck! Tycho Aussie Hello, Papabear,
I had seen your articles and read a few I enjoyed, so I thought you might be able to help me with something that's been bothering me for a while. I enjoy art very much and love being in the furry community. I especially love contributing my art and praising other artists and fursuit makers. Recently, I have finally been able to come out of the furry closet and recognize myself as a furry. My entire high school life, I denied being a furry and refused to let myself enjoy that creative part of me that I kept locked away. Reasons I did it were because of judgmental friends who hated furries and thought they were gross. Naturally, as any young teenager in their first years of high school would do, I had tried to fit in. When my senior year rolled around, I couldn't keep denying it and tried to pass it off as enjoying furry art. My friends didn't take too well to that at all. I began to hide it even more till I met some amazing friends online who were in the furry community. They had always been there for me and supported me when my friends wouldn't. I had been diagnosed earlier in the year with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depression, to top it all off my mother's own mental health began to unravel and did not help. I had about three or four panic attacks around my friends and had been treated differently ever since. I was also taken to a mental hospital for therapy and to get medication. Nasty rumors had been spread and there were plenty of jokes about it. I felt that I had to bottle up those parts of me also, which I did and ended up in the hospital twice. But my furry friends online had helped me an awful lot with talking to me and just trying to find ways of making me happy. While I had easily found help with proper medication and finding healthy outlets, my mother was not as lucky and passed away from prescription drug overdose. When my mom's funeral came around, none of my friends showed up but two of them. I had really begun to learn where I stood In their lives and decided to rid myself of them. My friends online in the furry community were extremely nice to me and helped me so much with support I needed after mom had passed. I am happy with myself now and I think I have done very well with myself since mom died. I'm not in college yet, I am taking a break to allow myself to process and breath. I have also had time to explore myself and fully accept that I'm a furry. I am also very proud of myself for accepting myself as a furry. I would love to indulge further and enjoy it a step further. I have decided to do that by purchasing a tail. I am excited to wear it, but recently, I have been having cold feet about it. I would like to try to wear it in public from time to time, but my anxiety gets the best of me and I immediately just want to throw it away. I have analyzed why I feel such strong anxiety towards it, and I have come to the conclusion that I am afraid of my high school comrades seeing me and I'm afraid of the opinions of others. I looked up forums and other things to see how other people felt, but I feel alone, as what I have read, no one really feels any anxiety towards it and they happily embrace the funny looks when they wear their tails. I wanted to ask, if you could help me determine if maybe it is too early for me to attempt wearing a tail, or maybe give some advice on how to enjoy wearing it without getting high anxiety or put a little control over my anxiety. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my letter and respond. Gadget (age 18) * * * Dear Gadget, I am very sorry to hear of your mom’s passing, and also very proud of you for how you are working through it and your life. Despite your anxiety and fears, I see you as a very strong person, indeed. In the book I am writing about the fandom, I will be quoting some research that has been done about furries that says a huge reason people glomp onto the fandom is because of the emotional support they receive. You’ve experienced this firsthand how your so-called peers in school largely abandoned you while your furry friends gave you support and encouragement. I’m glad you’re recognizing that these so-called friends are not really friends at all. Anyone who mocks you, anyone who treats you badly because you are suffering from a disability of any kind (and that includes GADD) is not a friend at all. The question becomes, therefore, why do you give a you-know-what if these non-friends of yours don’t like your wearing a tail in public? If we were all 100% self-confident, of course, this wouldn’t bother us at all because we would consider the source of the mocking and have no respect for it; therefore, it would not trouble us. But most of us, including me, are not 100% confident; we have at least a part of us that, even in the smallest way, feels bad when we are made fun of. You write that, in the forums, all these other furries are completely fine with wearing their fursuits or partials in public and do not feel distressed at all. That might be true for a few of them, but, believe me, a lot of them feel the same way you do and feel a bit embarrassed and lack confidence to wear such things in public (especially if it's not a furmeet or furcon). Interestingly, I believe that it is actually more difficult to wear a partial in public than a full fursuit. Yours truly has no problem donning my bearsuit and doing fun things in public because my identity is completely concealed. This is the power of masks and costumes. But wearing just a tail or ears takes cajones because people can see that it is you! I don’t think it’s too early for you to do some fursuiting, but I think you should ease into it. There are a lot of places where you can have fun wearing your tail: everything from special holidays (Halloween) to fairs (the Renaissance Faire is a good one). You can, of course, don the tail at furmeets and furcons. You could wear it at costume parties or if you have some fun festivals in Texas. Mardis Gras and carnivals are great places, too. You could volunteer at a pet adoption charity and wear it, or perhaps at wildlife conservation or environmental rallies, or at spiritualist ceremonies (if you’re into shamanism or Wicca, for instance). Be creative. So, wear the tail at such events as outlines above for a year or two or three before doing it for all occasions. Ease into it. The more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll feel. Hope that helps! Bear hugs, Papabear Dear Papabear,
My name is Basket and I have multiple questions if you do not mind that I am including below. Please I beg you answer them all for me as I am still new to this fandom thing and have certain insecurities an doubts about this fandom thing. Some of the questions reside from personal to questioning the fandom. Instead of pinning this up you can E-Mail me my answers if you'd like. Also if you want to edit this I give you full permission to take one of the questions and trim it away to post to your site. Anyhow, continuing on I have the questions to follow below and I guess some information to tag along behind the questions and what I have tried with them. How does one become a popufur like Telephone, NiiC, Radio, Vandal the Cat, you, and others out there in this fantastic and adoring fandom? Most people say you can start off by getting noticed on small sites like FurAffinity for a talent and work your way into cons with an original fursuit. I honestly have not been at a con, nor have I been able to be original with my fursuits. But how would you suggest me to become into getting well-known and unique. Basically to become a furlebrity. What is the best way to get my FurAffinity account known better to people in the possible quickest way? I know submitting pieces of work and tagging it is probably the most reasonable way, but I don't know how peoples minds work and what tags will give them a lead to my work. I write stories for my profile, being a beginner I only have one story as a work in progress and I plan to continue working on it. Just please let me know if there is a possible way of getting the word around with my profile quicker. How can I get more confidence and motivation to do what I love? I love to write and make stories but I find myself to either be busy and not have the time to sit there and write, or no motivation to be able to say hey let us start to write this story and get it submitted, but not least I find myself thinking what will others say about my writing then I lose my confidence, pride, motivation, etc... Why do a selected amount of people in human society hate the furry fandom? I've heard incidents where furry conventions have been gassed, an then even shot or beaten to death while they're alone or in a small group. I know that one reason is because some of them are into zoophilia, better known as animal sex, but let them choose their path, they shouldn't choose it for them. I found the furry fandom from the start to be cute, family-like, friendly, playful, adorable, unique, different, and supportive. Something I have not had for a long long duration of time until back two years ago. I think I fell in love with the fandom while on a virtual chatting game called IMVU. However, my question leads to why do certain people hate furries, and is there anyway us furries can stop it? A riot to get a law made for just us, get in contact with celebrities that are well-known to them and have them support us, or even if possible the president...just a way to say we're humans to we just have a fandom we're into, no different from you guys in anime cons, star wars cons, etcetera. To wrap these questions in the bag with a special delivery with a topping, my last question of this form is, can you please help me find cheap fursuit makers who do high quality work and can make my character as good looking as Telephone, Radio, NiiC, and so on. My family does not get much money at all we are struggling in real life and the only reason I am able to write this is because my neighbor has internet and gave us the password and a computer, god bless her. Anyhow, like I said our family is barely surviving I am lucky we are getting food, beverages, and rent in. We will be moving though trying to find a better and cheaper place to live. We have been asking churches to help us. Sorry for getting off board, but back to the main focus. I want to get a fursuit real bad my friend online is getting one free for talking someone out of suicide. I could of done that, done that for many people I am left unawarded and without a thanks. But, as saying I really want my character Basket as a fursuit and to be able to call myself a true furry and wear one then attend Megaplex Anthropomorphic Convention in Orlando, Florida. With a custom badge, fursuit, etcetera. But I have not found anyone cheap enough in about 500-700 dollars for a well-made fursuit that will last a long time, I am trying to save up my money to work for this, it's hard because I need to help my family. I've been denied from so many jobs and I really don't know, it must be because I am 16 years old without experience that is why I want to create a paypal and earn money on my FurAffinity. Papabear, please help me out with my chaos in this stuff, as I am struggling to find my way. I give complete thanks for answers to these questions and give you my fullest apology for adding question after question. However, if you read all of this and answer every single one I give you my honor and respect as to I can't find anyone to help me. I'm basically a loner in real life no one to relate to. I have absolute zero friends, maybe one but things went bad between me and him...so yeah zero friends, no mates, only online society. I need more furries in real life nearby where I can either bike it to them. PLEASE HELP! Thank you so much, I thought I'd give you a try. Yours truly, Basket (age 16) * * * Hi, Basket, Indeed, as I request on the form on this website, I do ask that people limit themselves to one question per letter. I really don’t want to open the barn doors so that people think that this is okay, so I am going to try to cram all your questions into one related question, which seems to be this: “I’m alone and friendless and it seems to me that there might be a way to make friends by being a popufur because I really would like to have a bunch of furry friends, even though a lot of people seem to hate furries.” To start, let’s get rid of some of your misconceptions. One of these is that you have to have a fursuit. You don’t. Only about 1 in 5 furries is a fursuiter, and not just because 80% can’t afford one. Rather, many people just don’t really want one. They are expensive, hot to perform in, and really take a lot of commitment. And, while we’re at it, you don’t even need to have a fursona to be a furry (although it’s a lot easier than fursuiting). I would suggest that, with money in your family tight, you save money for important things like, I dunno, food and bills. Not glamorous, I know, but if you can earn some money and your family needs it, the best thing you can do is support your family. Family first—remember that. Now, say, for a birthday or something, your family gives you a little spending money. You might try doing a partial fursuit. Maybe even just buy ears or a tail. And, just to note, you really don’t buy a top-notch fursuit for $500-$700. That’s pretty low end. So, start small and work your way up, but only as you can really afford to. As for being a popufur.... First off, please don’t call me a popufur as I see it as rather a derogatory term that means someone who wants to be popular for the sake of getting attention. That’s probably not how you meant it, but just for future reference.... Some people become popular because they make contributions to the fandom, such as art or running a convention. What I’m saying here is don’t try to be popular; rather, focus on enjoying being a furry. What do you like to do? Do that. Don’t worry about making friends. If you find stuff you really enjoy doing in the fandom, then you will probably meet others like yourself who enjoy doing the same things, and then you will make friends. If you do the other thing—try to be a popufur to get friends—you come off as being egotistical (“All Hail Me! For I Am a Popufur!”) Yuck. Oh, and please don’t say things such as “true furry.” Immediately that smacks of forced definition and elitism.... and bullshit. Pardon my French. A furry is someone who enjoys the anthropomorphic animal arts. Period. Anything and everything else is just gravy. As for furry haters. Don’t worry about them. Now, I don’t know where you heard about furries being killed, because that’s news to me. I have heard, of course, about the chlorine gas incident at last year’s Midwest Furfest in Chicago. The latest news on that is that it was a chemistry experiment gone awry—and by that, I mean someone was trying to cook up meth in their room and when it didn’t work they tried to dispose of the chemicals. They haven’t caught who did it, but it was probably a foolish hotel guest. I don’t think it was a deliberate attack on furries. Usually, the extent of furry “oppression” is mockery from mundanes who don’t understand us. I hope that some of what I have written here will bring you down to earth a bit. Being a furry can be a lot of fun. I have made a lot of friends and have had a great time. But don’t make it into something it is not, and don’t use furry as a vehicle toward becoming popular. It might be a cliché, but, really, you should just be yourself. Relax and have a good time. Take this bear’s advice and just enjoy the bare necessities. Hugs, Papabear [Papabear notes: in this column Papabear made a goof about contract law (and it was a pretty stupid one, too *blush*, and I should have known better), which is pointed out by a nice reader in the comments below. This is a great example of how this column can work as a community and that I very much appreciate my readers' input because it makes "Ask Papabear" more helpful than if I just did this on my own. Thanks!]
Papabear, I have been looking around for fursuit makers that allow a minor to have their parent cosign to get a fursuit, but can't find any. There are a few things saying minors cannot do commissions and a few others saying that it is just preference. I earned the money myself, though, so my parent wouldn't mind me spending it. So my question is: Do you know of any good makers that wil do a partial suit for a minor or at least let the minors parent cosign? Thanks! Zazzy * * * Hi, Zazzy, Commissioning a fursuit is not like going to a furcon, where you need to get an adult's permission or be accompanied by an adult if you are a minor. It's not like you are buying something naughty from Bad Dragon. It's just a fursuit. And if you have the money to pay for it, I'm sure most makers will take your money! The practice of cosigning is usually only done for loans in which the person applying for the loan has no collateral (or bad credit) and needs another person with collateral to secure the loan. When you buy a fursuit, however, it is cash or charge, not a loan, so cosigning really makes no sense. Now, if the issue is you're not sure how to pay because you don't have a charge card or a bank account (you don't want to send cash through the mail!), then run your fuzzy butt over to your local post office and get a money order for your down payment. Money orders up to $500 are $1.25 at the and $1.65 for $501 to $1,000. When commissioning a partial or full fursuit, Papabear recommend you get a written contract from the fursuit maker stating clearly what they agree to do for you and their refund policies. While this is a little unorthodox in the furry community (most makers just refer you to what is written on their websites, but I don't think that's enough, legally), I also recommend that you set a date for the fursuit to be completed (remembering that this might literally take years) and that you also make clear what happens if you are not happy with the completed product. Papabear has received a couple letters from unhappy furries who have been let down by fursuit makers. But the contract also protects the maker, stating that payment must be received at a certain time before the fursuit is delivered. Finally, get a receipt showing payment. It's wise of you to get a partial, since you're only 14 and might do some more growing still, which might make a full suit a bit tight on you. Happy Fursuiting! Papabear Papabear,
My friend is making me a foam base for a fursuit head for real cheap ($15, a steal). Do you have any advice for actually putting fur on it and making the rest of the suit (it’s a crow/raven)? I saw yours and thought it looked great, so I assumed you would be a great guy to ask. Kirbl the Corvid (age 12) * * * Hi, Kirbl, Well, my first advice to you would be don’t put fur on it :-) If you’re a raven, put black feathers on it! Or something that looks like feathers, anyway. Of course, birdsuits are a bit more complicated than mammals in some ways. You have all sorts of different textures: the hard beak, the smaller feathers on the head and underbelly, the larger flight feathers, and a different material all together for the legs and feet. Thank you for the compliment on my fursuit, but I didn’t make it. That credit goes to my wonderful fursuit maker, Beastcub. Here, FYI, is an example of a birdsuit she made http://www.beastcub.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=185044670. It’s very nice that your friend is making a head for you for $15. My advice to you on the rest of the fursuit (if your friend can’t do it) is to look for a maker who has made birds before. Money, of course, can be a bit of a problem. Because you are 12 and are likely going to grow some more, I would not invest a tremendous amount of money in this first fursuit because it likely won’t fit you after a couple years. Therefore, use this first fursuit as a learning experience and don’t spend a lot of money on it. It will work great, too, as you learn how to perform in one. In the meantime, I would also advise you to join a fursuiter social networking page, such as on Furry4Life or Facebook and chat with furries who also have birdsuits. Sorry I couldn’t be more help! Sadly, I’m not talented with a needle and thread, but there are lots of people out there who are, and many are happy to share what they know with you. Stay Furry! Papabear Papabear,
Ever since I was introduced to the furry fandom by a friend in 3rd grade, I loved the idea of going fursuiting, making fursuit videos, making fursuits. Fursuits in general have always amazed me! I recently started making a fursuit (that I am very happy with so far!), and I was thinking about how fun it would be to go out fursuiting! I had never really planned this out, and the fact that I’m still young, and that I don't have any talents that I could share to the world that involves wearing a fursuit, came to my attention. With all of the wonderful friends I have, only few of them are furries, and none of them have fursuits. Not only do my parents dislike the idea of me fursuiting alone, but I don't want to either. If I went fursuiting without anyone else, not only would I look strange, or suspicious, but It would be very risky. If I do go fursuiting, alone or not, I would end up just standing there, and waiting for someone to approach me, because I’m clueless of what to do when you go fursuiting. Like I stated earlier, I have no talents that I could show off with my fursuit. I've tried dancing, and I’m not very good, and I don't enjoy it at all. I'd approach people myself but I’m afraid I’d scare them, or they'd think I was some creep. I've always been confident, but one of the main reasons I want to go fursuiting is to make people happy. I overall just have no idea how I’m going to be able to go fursuiting once my suit is done. Please help! Kachebe the Shiba-inu (age 12; Winter Park, FL) * * * Hi, Kachebe! Yes, fursuits are great fun, and if you are like most fursuiters, the real joy you’ll find in doing it will be interacting with other people and making them smile. You are also correct that fursuiting alone is really not a great idea. The biggest reason for this is that when you are in a fursuit your vision will be restricted. This can vary from fursuit to fursuit, but even with those that have a fairly large area opened up for vision, you will still have very little or no peripheral vision. Also, eyeholes are usually covered with a mesh or other material that makes it harder to see, especially in low-light areas. This is why it is best to have a “handler” with you at all times—especially if you are inexperienced at fursuiting. A handler is someone who is not in fursuit and who can keep an eye out for hazards, such as curbs, steps, ramps, or anything blocking a walkway, such as wiring or plant debris. Handlers also keep an eye out for mischievous kids (and adults) who might sneak up on you, pull on your tail, or do things that could startle you or damage your fursuit. Also, a basic rule of fursuiting is that you should not approach people, but, rather, let them approach you. This is especially true with children because their parents or guardians might get freaked out if you approach them suddenly, and the kids can get scared, too. For example, even though I don’t find my bearsuit scary—and most children don’t either—I’ve had some very small kids cry just by looking at me. When that happens, I make sure I retreat and make myself as unthreatening as possible. That said: interacting with people. I, like you, don’t have any real “talents.” I don’t dance well, I don’t juggle or, like some fursuiters, rollerblade. But I do have my fursona character. I’m a big, lovable, huggable bear. A lot of what I do is simply hugging people and posing for photos. When the timing seems right, I also do silly things like follow people around, mocking their movements, playing peekaboo, silly things like that that anyone can do. Fursuiting is, really, a form of acting. It’s performance art, and the best fursuiters are the ones who really get into character and have fun with it. Okay, so, when can you fursuit, if not at a furcon. There are two kinds of options here: furmeets and furcons, and special events. Now, you live in Winter Park near Orlando (Disneyworld!), which is rather a furry hotspot, isn’t it? Have you tried joining Florida Furs (http://www.meetup.com/Florida-Furs/)? Also, the Megaplex furcon is in Orlando (July 31-August 2 this year). If I were you, I would definitely try to attend local furmeets, which always afford chances to fursuit with plenty of people around you. The other thing you can do is suit up for events such as Halloween or even Easter. You can sometimes suit up for fairs and parades (near me, for instance, is the Pasadena Doo-Dah Parade that encourages dressing up), and many furries go to Renaissance festivals and fursuit there (near you is the Lady of the Lake Renaissance Faire, but there are several others in Florida, too). There’s another thing you can do, too, that might even make you some money: you can see if a business will hire you to stand in front of its store (perhaps while holding a sign) and attract people to come in to the store. I’ve done this in Palm Springs and it’s a lot of fun. Still another idea: your fursona is a Shiba Inu (I must assume, since it’s in your name), which is a type of spitz. You might see if there is a dog show near you and see if the people who run it would like you to suit up as a promotional tool for them. You could also do this for kennels and animal shelters, either for pay or as a volunteer. On the subject of volunteering: GREAT way to fursuit and interact with people. I know several fursuiters who perform for charities and have an AMAZING time. It’s very rewarding and you get to fursuit at the same time. So, there you have several options. I hope one or more of them appeals to you. Have fun! Stay Furry! Papabear Dear Papabear,
First I ask that this not be published. Anyway, I'm in a situation that both bothers me and causes me to start to lose some confidence in the fandom. I will try to provide as much information as I can, so here it goes. In July I attended my first ever convention: Anthrocon 2014. With me was, at the time, my non-furry friend, who has, since attending AC, joined the fandom. While there we talked about getting fursuits together and attending Anthrocon every year that we can, which excited me greatly. I have always wanted a fursuit. Just the idea of bringing my fursona to life and making people smile as him makes me happy. So upon returning home I started my search for a fursuit maker. I researched, I priced, I was careful. I found a maker on Furaffinity; I researched her, found no bad comments about her, saw a couple suits she made, and so I proceeded to contact her and commissioned her to build me a partial, She charged me $600, which I paid in full upon her request for me to do so. She gave me the completion date of September. I tried to keep in contact with her, which proved difficult every time. And when I did finally did get in contact with her I got an excuse why she wasn't providing pictures of the progress and was told that the completion changed to October. I figured, okay, things happen, it's life. Then again, hard to get a hold of her, and again every time I did, excuses why I wasn't receiving photos of the progress, and again time change to November, and, yes, same thing again. Now it's December and I have tried to be in contact with her and have not heard from her in over a month. I'm not sure how I should proceed as, honestly, this was my first-ever commission. I've never even commissioned art, and I am afraid if what has happened has truly happened I may never trust to commission again. So my question on this: am I wrong in thinking that I have been scammed? Should I cut my losses? And is there anything I should be doing that I'm not? Thank you in advance, Frustrated * * * Dear Frustrated, Please do not “lose confidence in the fandom” because of the actions of one slow fursuit maker. One should never condemn an entire group of people because of one or two bad eggs. That said, and although I have written on this topic before, this is a good opportunity to talk once again about contracts, verbal contracts, and your legal rights. One of the things that has long frustrated this bear about furry businesses is that furries who sell goods don’t seem, for the most part, to understand a damn thing about business—whether you are a business owner or a client. I chalk this up to the culture of informality in the fandom. That is, we have established a chummy community within the fandom in which we believe—often falsely—that fellow furries will treat us fairly because they are part of one big happy family. Therefore, we do not take precautions when it comes to business. There once was a time when “a man’s handshake was as good as his word” (or pawshake, in this context). That’s no longer true, whether in the mundane or in the furry world. I have to use two paws to count the number of times my mate has been f***ed over by business people who did not honor their verbal agreements. I’ve encountered some of this myself (not with my fursuit maker, Beastcub, who is super-pawsome and worked very closely with me to deliver an outstanding result), but with a certain artist who took over two years to complete a commission I had wanted for a Christmas gift (hence, timeliness was important). While he eventually did get around to it, I will never commission him again. And that is one thing many artists in the fandom don’t seem to get: if you mistreat customers, eventually the word-of-mouth will bite you in the butt. It’s bad for business. In hindsight (too late for you right now, but perhaps helpful in the future), you should always get a written agreement with an artist or fursuit maker. If they refuse to agree to one, tell them “no thanks” and find someone else. Secondly, never never never pay 100% for the commission up front. The artist I work with for this site, Dan the Bear, for example, never demands I pay him until I am satisfied with the result and he has delivered it to me. With fursuit makers, because they have to buy materials for your fursuit, the proper thing to do is treat them like a contractor working on your house. When I have a carpenter or plumber or electrician doing work, I pay him or her for all the supplies they need as soon as we agree on what’s to be done. Then, when they are done with the job, I pay for labor. The same should be true for any respectable fursuit maker. Get an invoice from them for the materials they need and pay for those. Then, when the finish, give them the rest. You could also pay in “milestones.” That is (and this can work for larger projects), pay for completion of certain steps. For instance, pay 25% for when the head is completed, another 25% for the body, and then the balance when it is all done. The fact that the fursuit maker in your case refused to show you photos makes her, indeed, suspect. It might be that she was once reliable (as online evidence seemed to indicate), but people can go from good to bad sometimes. Okay, so what to do from this point? Well, you don’t have a contract, but what Papabear is hoping and praying for is that you saved your email and any other correspondence with her. These are considered legal evidence of an agreement—especially if you have emails from her saying, yes, she received the $600 (or some other evidence, such as a PayPal receipt) and, yes, she was going to complete it by such and such a date. While written contracts are best, verbal contracts are still considered enforceable. Gather up these emails, and if you have witnesses, get them on your side, too. With those on your side, contact the fursuit maker and tell her that you are unhappy with her lack of progress and want a refund immediately. If she refuses, tell her that you have email evidence that she received your money and agreed to make the fursuit, and if she still refuses tell her that she leaves you no choice but to take legal action—that is, you will take her to small claims court (tips on how: http://www.peopleslawyer.net/legal-topics/small-claims-court.html). Here’s some info to know if the person you are suing is in another state: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/small-claims-book/chapter9-2.html. Another thing she might do is ask for another extension. If so, and you feel kind and generous, that is up to you to accept. BUT! If you do accept it, this time get a written contract that includes a date of delivery and a description of what, exactly, is to be delivered to you in satisfactory condition. Also include a clause saying you have a right to refuse the work if you consider the quality unacceptable (e.g., she hands you a wad of fabric with two eyes glued to it). Don’t threaten to bad mouth her on furry forums. You can actually get into legal trouble yourself sometimes when you do that (she might accuse you of slander). But do tell her in no uncertain terms what you expect from her and when. You’re in an unenviable place right now, but with some work—and if you stick to your guns—you can get this straightened out and, hopefully, learn from the experience. Good luck! Papabear * * * Dear Papabear, Thank you for your advice. I will take it to heart and act upon it. I do have the emails and PayPal receipts. Update on the situation: this morning, after I emailed her twice in a week about needing to speak with her, I reviewed an email from her with only three words: "my laptop broke." And this upset me a great deal, so I am definitely going to be requesting a refund and searching for a new maker. And again thank you for the advice. |
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